Electroplating apparatus.



N0. 806,835. PATENTBD DEC. 12, 1905 L. POTTHOFF.

ELEGTROPLATING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED 13110.1, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 806,835. PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

L. POTTHOFP. ELEGTROPLATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.1,1904,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LOUIS POTTHOFF, OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK.

ELECTROPLATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed December 1, 1904. Serial No. 234,987-

To all w/wm it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS PoTTHoFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Flushing, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electroplating Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to electroplating apparatus, and has particular reference to improvements in apparatus for electroplating small articles in quantities. With this end in View I have devised an improved tumblingbarrel having a novel arrangement of the poles and constructed so that the work and the poles may be readily inserted or removed without stopping the machine.

A further feature of the invention resides in means whereby the contents of the barrel may be automatically discharged by reversing its direction of rotation, all of which will be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of an electroplating apparatus embodying one form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing a modified form. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a different construction of cathodeterminal. Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a further modification; and Fig. 5 is a top plan view, partly in section, of Fig. 1.

1 represents a tank lined with suitable acidresisting material and constructed sufliciently heavy to support the working parts of the apparatus. Mounted on cross-bars 2 are annular bearing-rings 3, on which the barrel or cylinder I is mounted. Referring to Fig. 1, the barrel is made of skeleton construction, consisting of annular end pieces 5, connected by longitudinal bars 6. The inner surface of the end pieces 5 bears on the annular bearings 3, which latter support the weight of the barrel. 7 is a porous or meshed lining which is made sufficiently strong and durable to support the weight of the work contained in the barrel and to withstand the abrasion due to the work and the rotation of the barrel. Heavy cocoa matting satisfactorily meets the conditions and can be cheaply replaced. I have found in practice that even though the work is in contact with the matting the passage of the depositing metal is not interfered with, because of the continual movement of the work and the comparatively loose texture of the matting. I am thus enabled to dispose the anodes both within and without the barwhich the outside anode is made in the form I of a sheet which is attached to spacing-strips 8 on the outside of the matting. The current is led to this outside anode 9 by means of a brush 10, which may be mounted on the cross-bars 2, and thence connected with the positive-current-supplying mains. 11 is an inside anode which may be supported from the annular bearing-rings 3 and connected with the positive-current-supplying mains. In order to give increased surface, the anodes may be corrugated and may of course be made in sections, so as to be more easily renewed. The cathode-terminal comprises one or more longitudinal bars 12, connected by curved cross-bars 13, which are curved downwardly, as shown, in order to be more or less covered by the work. It will be seen that as the barrel rotates the bars 13 will act to have a separating effect upon the work, the tendency of which is to stick together through the depositing metal. and it is essential that the work be kept stirred up, so that all parts will be covered.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a construction in which the use of sliding contacts is entirely avoided. The inside anode 11 remains as before, and instead of mounting the outside anode on the barrel itself I mount it on the supporting-frame independently of the barrel, which therefore acts as a support for the work without having any electrical connections. This I consider an important feature of the invention, as it has been found in practice that sliding contacts are very objectionable and cause considerable loss of current on account of the presence of acid, gases, and the deposition of salts from the electrolyte. The fixed anode comprises one or more curved sheets 14, which have their lower ends separated and inclined toward each other in order to act as a chute when the work is discharged from the barrel. By shaping the fixed outside anodes 14: to conform to the curvature of the barrel they can be placed very close to the porous lining, and thus unnecessary loss of current avoided in passing from the anode to the work. By providing the anodes and cathodes independent of the barrel they can be renewed or removed without stopping the machine, and it is also possible to examine the work at any time through the open. ends without stopping the machine. The barrel may thus be made considerably lighter and be more easily handled in consequence.

In Fig. 3 is shown a construction using the fixed outside anodes and a fixed inside anode in connection with a modified form of cathodeterminal. 16 is a cranked rod which is mounted inhangers 17, carried by the tank. Supported on the crank portion of the rod 16 in hangers 17 are a number of loosely-mounted hubs carrying arms 18, which are all made of such diameter that they can be passed through the annular bearings 3. The hangers 17 are preferably substantially in line with the axis of the rotationof the barrel, and by turning the rod 16 the crank portion carrying the loosely-rotatable arms 18 can be adjusted to various positions inside the barrel. A set-screw 19 may be provided for clamping the rod 16 in adjusted position. The arms 18 and rods 16 are composed of conducting material, and the lower ends of the arms will be covered by the work. It will thus be seen that as the barrel rotates the arms will also be rotated by the work, but at a difierent speed from that of the barrel. In this way the arms will act as stirrers and prevent the small pieces from sticking together. As the work will by the rotation of the barrel be carried up on one side until it falls back, it is desirable to make the arms adjustable, and this I accomplish by means of the crank shaft or rod, which enables the arms to be swung to any desired position inside of the barrel, according to the nature and quantity of the work carried by the barrel.

Fig. 4 shows a modified construction of barrel in which the fixed outside and inside anodes are used in combination with cathodeterminals carried by the barrel. 2O represents conducting-bars mounted on the inside of'the meshed lining and connected at one end through wires 21 with a slip-ring 22, on which brushes 23, connected to the negative mains, bear. The opposite end may be left open, as in Fig. 1, in order to permit the insertion and the removal of the inside anode, the work, See. It is of course understood that except where the cathode-terminals contact with the work they are insulated in order to prevent unnecessary deposition of metal, which must be periodically removed.

In order to automatically discharge the work, I provide a longitudinal opening 24 in one side of the barrel, and interiorly over this I mount ashield or hood 25, which when the barrel rotates in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, prevents the work from passing out through the opening 24:, but which is effective when the barrel is rotated in the opposite direction to guide the work out through the opening. The barrel shown in Fig. 1 idiffers slightly in contour from that shown in Fig. 4:, being spiral in form; but both constructions operate in the same manner. The barrel is rotated by a sprocket 34:, chain 26, and sprocket 27 on shaft 28, which is suitably driven from a motor or other source of power. In order to discharge the work, the barrel may be rotated oppositely by hand until the work falls out through opening 24 or may be operated mechanically by any reversing-gear, such as the driving-belts 29 and 30. The material may be supplied to the barrel through the opening 24 by a hopper 31, which can be swung into and out of position, as desired. From the opening the work is discharged into a chute 32 (or the fixed outside anodes 14) and thence to a perforated receptacle 33, wlilich can be removed from the solution when fu From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a novel form of electroplatingbarrel in which the working parts can be easily renewed without stopping the machine and also in which the work is at all times open to inspection through the open ends, and this I consider an important advantage of my construction.

It will also be understood that the invention is capable of other modifications than those herein shown and that the parts, while shown in certain relations merely for convenience in illustration, are capable of use in other relations without departing from the scope of the invention, and I do not consider myself limited to the exact arrangements which I have shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A tumbling-barrel having an opening in one side thereof, and means whereby the contents of the barrel are retained when it is rotated in one direction, and discharged when rotated in the other, substantially as described.

2. A tumbling-barrel having an opening in one side thereof, and an interior shield over said opening, said shield being inclined with respect to the plane of the opening, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a tumbling-barrel having a longitudinal opening, and an interior shield over said opening, of an interior cathode, and an anode, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a porous tumblingbarrel having a longitudinal opening, and an interior shield over said opening, of an interior cathode and an exterior anode, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a porous tumblingbarrel having a longitudinal opening, and an interior shield over said opening, of an interior cathode and a fixed exterior anode, substantially as described.

6. The combination witha tumbling-barrel having a longitudinal opening and an interior shield over said opening, of an interior cathode and a fixed exterior anode, the anode being adapted to guide the material discharged through said opening, substantially as described.

7. A tumbling-barrel having a longitudinal opening in one side thereof, a shield over said opening, means for rotating the barrel in one direction to tumble the material, and means for rotating the barrel a partial revolution in the opposite direction to discharge the material, substantially as described.

8. A tumbling-barrel having a longitudinal opening in one side thereof, a shield over said opening, an interior cathode, means for rotating the barrel in one direction to tumble the material, means for rotating the barrel a partial revolution in the opposite direction to discharge the material, and a fixed outside anode adapted to guide the material when dis charged, substantially as described.

9. The combination with an open-ended tumbling-barrel mounted at its ends on annular trunnions, of an anode, and a cathode-terminal comprising a cranked rod mounted independently of the barrel and carrying movable arms on the cranked portion adapted to contact with material contained within the barrel, substantially. as described.

10. The combination with an open-ended tumbling-barrel mounted at its ends on annular trunnions, of an anode, and a cathode-terminal comprising a cranked rod mounted independently of the barrel and carrying movable arms on the cranked portion adapted to contact with material contained within the barrel, and means for adjusting the cranked rod to diflerent positions, according to the nature and amount of material, substantially as described. v

11. The combination with arotatable tumbling-barrel having means whereby the material is retained therein when rotated in one direction, and discharged when rotated in the opposite direction, of a series of connected cathode-terminals moving with said barrel, and an anode, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a rotatable tumbling-barrel having means whereby the material is retained therein when rotated in one direction, and discharged when rotated in the opposite direction, of a series of connected cathode-terminals moving with said barrel, and a fixed exterior anode adapted to guide the material when discharged, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS POTTHOFF.

Witnesses:

JULIAN S. WOOSTER, GEORGE l\. KERR. 

